Still Waters
by Luna umbra
Summary: McKay and Ronon visit an allied world to fix a device, when things turn weird. Ronon turns evil and starts hunting McKay. McKay is desperately trying to get to Atlantis and get the old Ronon back. Also some hypoglycemia, allergic reactions, gun shots, head wounds... whump all around.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**Stargate Atlantis, set in season 3.**

**I do not own any of these characters.**

I am sorry if my English sucks.

I am not a doctor. So if any of the symptoms and/or treatments aren't correct, don't sue me :P

* * *

"Why do I need to go?" Rodney replied.

"Because these people provide more than half of our food supply, and we are always welcome to use their planet as a beta-side, and we don't want to do anything that might harm our relationship with them. We need them. Doctor Eisen has already been there, but he wasn't able to make heads or tails of that device."  
"So, send Zelenka. He is more than capable enough to fix that device just as easily as I can, and god knows he can use the experience of going off world -"  
"Zelenka is down with the flu, as you are very much aware of -"  
"And I'm -"  
"McKay, I am telling _you_ to go! And it wasn't a suggestion!"  
Rodney stared at Elizabeth.  
"Fine!"  
"Ronon will accompany you"  
"What? Just Ronon? Why?"  
Elizabeth sighed. "They are very friendly people McKay. Their shield device makes it impossible for darts to come through the gate. You're perfectly safe. And we won't make the Ulisians feel like we think of them as a threat, by coming to their planet with a number of armed marines"  
"Maybe darts are out of the question. But there are tons of other things that can go wrong -"  
"That's why Ronon will accompany you!"  
"But-"  
"End of discussion McKay!" Elizabeth answered with a stern tone. "You will leave at 0800 tomorrow morning. Make all the preparations you need before then"  
McKay looked at her with a flare of anger. This was gonna put a stop to all of his projects. He was going to get way behind. Not to mention that they wouldn't be taking a jumper to the village. They had to walk the full _5_ hours. This was ridiculous. And having only Ronon as company. Sure, in the face of danger Ronon would be No 1 to keep him safe, but outside of danger... what was he supposed to talk to him about? These were going to be two long days.

...

He was walking through the tall grass. For the first two hours he had been trying to keep up with Ronon, but after nearly tripping for what felt like the hundredth time, he gave up. Ronon had tried to nudge him on from the moment they had set foot on the planet, but now Rodney had had it. He was tired, he was hungry, his feet hurt, his legs were burning from the sensation of walking for hours. He was wheezing and a cough burned his throat. He tiredly let himself fall down on a flat rock, just to the left of him. He lay in quite an uncomfortable position, with his bulky backpack still on, but he was too tired to readjust his position. If Ronon wanted him to take one more step, he was just gonna have to force him to do it. For a moment Rodney let his mind wander on the actual possibility of Ronon doing exactly that, and he shuddered. He quickly focused his mind on breathing, just breathing. In and out. In and out. He felt the wheezing quiet down a bit and the breaths came easier.  
He was just growing accustomed to the uncomfortable position he was lying in, when something suddenly blocked the sunlight from his face.  
"McKay!" He heard Ronon say.  
Rodney tried to analyze what he heard in the man's voice. Annoyance mostly, with a slight edge of amusement. And only if you knew the man long enough, you could hear the tinge of worry in his voice as well. Rodney calculated his chances of being able to lie down like this much longer, and came to the conclusion that it would come to a quick end.  
"McKay!" Ronon repeated, much louder this time, and Rodney heard the threat in it.  
"I am tired, okay!", Rodney whined.  
"You might have a body accustomed to running around all day, but I don't! I am a scientist, not a soldier! We have been walking for hours and hours, and now I am tired. My legs are burning, my feet hurt, and do you hear me wheeze, 'cause I sure as hell do!"

Ronon just looked at him with calculating eyes, while Rodney was rambling on and on. Ronon knew that as long as the scientist was rambling on, nothing serious was going on. If he was in real bad shape, or on the verge of collapsing, Rodney tended to act completely different. So he wasn't worried.  
"- and... Oh my god! Now I am coughing as well. I probably picked up some nasty decease. The Pegasus galaxy is trying to kill me... _again_. Oh my god, I'm gonna die out here! I'm gonna die horribly -"  
"You're not gonna die, McKay!" Ronon cut him short in his hypochondriac rambling. He was used to it by now, but experience told him that it was better to cut him off, before he got into it too deep.  
"You can't know that. The Pegasus galaxy -"  
"I'm not gonna _let_ you die!" Ronon said plainly.  
"Oh".  
Rodney thought about that for a bit, and it seemed to calm him down.  
"We'll take a short break. It's not far now" Ronon said.  
"Not far? What is your definition of 'not far'? You said 'it's not far' before we even started this trip-"  
"About two miles"  
"Two? That is still far! You need to lower your rates to the more general idea of 'Not Far'!" Rodney spat at him, annoyed. But inside he was relieved. Only one and a half mile left. They were almost there.

Much quicker then Rodney would have liked Ronon announced that the break was over. Rodney clumsily tried to stand up, but the weight of the backpack made him fall back down again. Ronon grabbed him by his arm and the front of his jacket and easily pulled him up. Rodney muttered a quiet "thanks", with red flushing his cheeks. But Ronon just grunted something undecipherable, and started walking in the direction of the village. Rodney readjusted his backpack and followed the man quickly.

...

They finally neared the village, Rodney was sure of it. They had seen smoke columns rise into the air for a while now, but now Rodney could smell food as well.  
'_Oh, food! God, I am starving!'_, and at the thought of food Rodney felt his mouth water and his stomach gave a loud growl. He tried to pick up his pace with the idea of food driving him.

A small smile touched the corner of Ronon's lips. He had recognized the smells from a long distance away, but he knew that as soon as the ever-hungry McKay figured out what the smells were he would try to get there as soon as possible. And he was not disappointed when he heard the stomach of the man in question growl loudly. A smile touched his lips. He knew the man too well.  
He saw McKay quickening his pace to match his. He arched an eyebrow. The man wouldn't be able to keep this up for long without tripping over something. He slowed his pace, and fell into step next to McKay. He kept his hands ready for when the man would trip. And again, he wasn't disappointed. They had only managed to walk a small distance at this pace, when McKay tripped over a pointy rock.

Rodney had seen the rock, of course, and he had gradually stepped over it with his left foot. But when the right one had to follow, he didn't pull his leg up far enough, and his foot caught on the rock. He would have sprawled face down in the hard, dry earth if Ronon hadn't caught him quickly by the back of his jacket and kept him upright.  
"Thanks" mumbled Rodney, again with red flushing his cheeks.  
This time Ronon simply nodded.  
They continued their journey, and finally the village came in sight. Not a moment too soon, Ronon thought, because he could hear McKay starting to wheeze again.

Villagers crawled around them as they entered the village. Ronon had never felt easy in crowds such as these, and held his hand closely to his gun. He could see the villagers touching McKay. They touched his uniform, the logo of Atlantis, the bright colored flag on his sleeve. Ronon was glad they mostly left him alone. Finally Rodney had had enough.  
"Yes, yes. We're here! Now tell me where your leader is!" Rodney demanded.  
_'Brusk as always_', Ronon thought.  
An old man stepped forward.  
"You are most welcome, yea of Atlantis".  
Rodney nodded.  
"This device that needs fixing, where is it located?" he said pointedly. He felt his stomach growl in protest.  
"And you don't have something to eat, do you? I'm starving!".  
The older man looked unsure of himself.  
"Of course, but... would you not rather like to rest first? And we have prepared a feast for your arrival."  
"How lovely! But later, if you don't mind. I want to get this finished as quickly as possible" '_and be out of here'_, he finished the sentence in his mind.  
"Be nice, McKay" Ronon grumbled.  
"I am being nice" he spat out, annoyed. "They send an alarm call to Atlantis, saying that they broke the device and that they need it fixed up ASAP. Now I'm here to fix it, against my will I might add, and now they want to waste my time on festivals and group hugging? I'd rather not".  
Ronon sighed.  
A young man stepped forward.  
"I'll take you to the device" he said, bravely looking into the man's eyes.  
Ronon looked at him closely, and nodded approvingly. The man seemed to be young, smart and with sharp eyes. A brave, young man, one who liked adventure. He reminded him slightly of Sheppard.  
"Okay. Well, let's go then" Rodney said.  
The man nodded and pointed to the east. Ronon looked in the direction the finger indicated and saw a high mountain rising before them.  
"It is quite a climb" the young man said, "but I have put anchors with ropes all the way up to the top, so that should help".  
Rodney followed the finger as well and saw with horror that the path they would take ended in a climb up a mountain. And not just any mountain. That thing looked enormous.  
'_Good god. We have to climb that? This day just gets worse and worse. How do they expect me to make it up that far?'  
_The man saw the distress on Rodney's face.  
"The device is not at the top. It's about halfway there. And the path isn't that steep in the beginning."  
"Well, only half way there? Thank God for small favors. How do you expect me to climb all the way up there? I'm -"  
"McKay, stop whining! The earlier we get a move on, the earlier we're finished"  
"Stop whining? Have you seen that mountain you overgrown ape? I have all this equipment with me. I don't see you carrying anything around, except that big gun of yours of course. How -"  
But Rodney was cut short when Ronon took a step closer to Rodney.

"What – Hey!" Rodney exclaimed when suddenly Ronon took a hold of the bulky backpack and maneuvered Rodneys arms out of the handles. As soon as he had the backpack free, he slung it over his own shoulder and put it on. The weight of the backpack surprised him. Of course he had heard McKay say it was heavy, and he knew how many instruments the scientist carried, but he had never quite expected it to be heavy. Now that he actually felt how heavy the backpack was, he was surprised that McKay had walked as far as he did without actual complaining. The man always rambled on and on about everything, but even though his mouth said one thing, he always sucked it up and got the job done. But the man already had trouble keeping a good _pace_ without tripping. Climbing a mountain would be a real challenge, even without his backpack. He was going to need all the help he could get.  
"There are delicate things in there, you know. Things that could break! I know I am supposed to fix everything, but being careful with this stuff would help a lot!"  
Ronon looked McKay in the eyes, and took the complaint as a _Thank you_. He gestured towards the mountain.  
"It's going to be difficult enough" he gruffly answered, and turned the man around.  
"Come!"

Rodney looked at the man. Was he seriously helping him. Of course he was always helping him when he was in trouble, but that the man would think of him _before_ he got into trouble was new for him. Or maybe he had never realized it.  
"Come" he heard Ronon say.  
It pulled him out of his thoughts, and quickly focusing on the task at hand he followed the man towards the mountain.

* * *

\To be continued


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Stargate Atlantis, set in season 3.**

**I do not own any of these characters.**

I am sorry if my English sucks.

I am not a doctor. So if any of the symptoms and/or treatments aren't correct, don't sue me :P

* * *

They had been climbing for a while now. The air was getting thinner and Rodney found that is was getting harder to breath. The air was colder here as well. His hands and feet had gone numb a while ago, and his skin burned from the cold wind. He focused on climbing. Right foot, right hand, left foot, left hand. He repeated it over and over. His lungs burned from the effort, and his throat felt like he had swallowed a cheese grater.

Ronon watched the man in front of him like a hawk. One small step. It only took one misplaced step for the man to fall to his death. He had seen McKay's movements getting slower and less accurate. He had seen the man's skin turn white as a sheet. And now he saw his hands tremble.  
"McKay" he said worried. Whether the place was convenient or not, McKay could not continue like this. But the man in question seemed not to have heard him.  
He climbed up to McKay and touched his shoulder.  
"McKay. You need a break"

Rodney yelped in surprise and quickly tried to get away from the man who had a grip on his shoulder. He jumped to the side, against a solid wall of icy rock. He fully collapsed against it, fell down on the rocky path and started to slide down the mountain. Ronon quickly lurched forward and grabbed the man, tightly holding him in place so he wouldn't slide down further.  
"McKay" he yelled, readjusting his hold on the man and pulling his upper body up.  
"McKay!" he yelled again, more loudly this time and shaking the man slightly.  
Ronon saw McKay dutifully open his eyes. He crouched down next to him.  
"You alright?"

Rodney nodded, even though he felt like crap. He felt dizzy. His head was pounding. His lungs burned. His throat was raw. He couldn't feel his hands and feet anymore. He was cold. So cold. He didn't even have the energy left to wrap his arms around himself to conserve any body heat he still had. Suddenly he felt nauseous, and he saw his hands tremble. Then something clicked in his mind.  
"Oh crap!" he whispered.

"What?" Ronon asked worried. He saw that McKay felt anything but okay, but he didn't know what had caused it.  
"Food... I haven't eaten anything in more than 6 hours..." McKay trailed off.  
Suddenly it clicked in Ronon's brain. Hypoglycemic shock. He could go into a coma. He hadn't eaten since before the start of this mission. They had been walking all day, and now they were climbing the mountain with the air as thin as it was. How stupid of him not to think of this. He had heard McKay say he was hungry. He had heard him ask for food in the village. But he had simply pushed him on… On to the next task. He knew how serious his condition was. He had seen it on previous missions. On the first few missions together he had always heard the man ramble on and on about his so called medical conditions. He never actually believed any of them to be true. He had learned rather quickly that the man tended to see everything in a pessimistic, worst case scenario way and wasn't able to handle pain... at all. Even when he had a splinter, he screamed and yelled like he was dying. He actually hadn't thought much of him on the first few missions.  
But then the team had been taken captive, and locked in a cell without food or water for days. Of course they had all been hungry, but McKay started falling ill, very ill. McKay had got them out of the high-tech cell, but had fallen in a coma soon after. Later he learned from the doctor that his conditions were very serious, and not something to mess around with. From that moment on he always kept medical supplies for McKay's conditions on him, at all times. You never knew what you walked into.  
"Here" he said, handing over a couple of energy bars and a flask of water to McKay.

Rodney looked at the bars in his hand. He focused his eyes on the flavors. You always had to be careful with these things. He selected one of them and tried to rip open the package with his trembling hands. Ronon saw him struggle. He took the energy bar, opened it up for him and placed it back in his hands. Rodney stared at it again. Somehow the wrapping paper had disappeared. He wanted to know how that was possible, but decided that it could wait for later. He slowly started eating the bar, and as soon as he had swallowed the first bite the rest followed quicker. Within 10 minutes he had wolfed down 3 bars, and he took a few sips of water. He leaned back against the stone wall heavily. The headache was still there, but the dizziness faded away.  
"McKay?" he heard Ronon say again, and he opened his eyes.  
"Better?"  
He nodded slightly, before closing his eyes again.

Ronon looked at McKay. The trembling in his hands was lessening, and his skin wasn't white as a sheet anymore. Also his eyes seemed more focused. It looked like they caught it in time. The young man that led them to the device stood to the side and looked down on them.  
"Is he going to be alright?" he asked worriedly.  
"He is now", Ronon grunted.  
The young man nodded.  
"I'm glad that he is. It is quite a climb up here, and some people can't handle it that well. That's why they chose me as the guardian of the device. My father used to be the guardian, and now he passed that task on to me. I come up here twice a day, to turn it on and turn it off again. But sometimes other people come up here, and they get nauseous, and dizzy and light headed. I think it is the air. But I'm not sure."  
"This is not the air" Ronon answered.  
"Then what is it?" the young man asked, worry and interest in his voice.  
"He gets sick when he doesn't eat enough".  
"What a strange sickness to have" the man mused, but he accepted the answer.  
"Will he be okay to continue on?"  
Ronon nodded slightly, focusing now on the man in front of him.  
"McKay!" he said, tapping the man's face slightly.

Rodney felt the tapping on his face and opened his eyes. He focused on the man's face in front of him, and found that it took a lot less effort then a short while ago. He looked at his hands and flexed his fingers. The trembling was almost gone. He shook his head slightly, as if to get rid of the cobwebs in his head. The dizziness was now fully gone.  
"I'm feeling much better. Thanks!" Rodney uttered to Ronon.  
Ronon looked at the man's face. His color was returning. He had no difficulty focusing anymore. He saw the man cringe slightly when he shifted and the sunlight hit his eyes.  
"Head?" he simply asked.  
He saw McKay nod carefully.  
Ronon padded down McKay's tag vest.  
"Hey -" Rodney exclaimed.  
"What -"  
"Painkillers. You carry them in your vest, don't you?"  
"Yeah, I do, but -"  
But Ronon had already found what he had been looking for as he triumphantly pulled out a strip of Tylenol. He took out two of the pills and offered them to McKay, with his flask of water.  
"Here", he just said.  
Rodney took the pills without a second thought, and swallowed them quickly with a few sips of water. He sighed. How much he wanted to just stay there. How much he wanted to just close his eyes and fall asleep. He was so tired. His lungs were still burning and his throat was raw from the thin air. But he was immensely cold as well. The longer they stayed here, the colder he'd get. They had to go on. The quicker they finished this mission, the quicker he could return to the warmth of his beloved Atlantis.  
"Shall we continue on?" he uttered, half-heartedly.

Ronon looked at the man, obviously calculating whether McKay would be able to cope or not.  
"I'm feeling much better. And the quicker we finish this, the quicker we can get off of this mountain".  
Ronon had to agree with that, but that didn't mean he had to like it. He pulled the man up and slung the heavy backpack over his shoulders once again. The wind picked up again and he felt the cold through his jacket. He quickly followed McKay and hovered close by. The man was far from okay, but Ronon agreed with what he said. The quicker they got to the device, the quicker McKay could fix it.  
They continued on. The path zigzagged above them, and after a while they could see the reflection of sunlight on a metal structure of some kind. Their destination was in sight. That McKay hadn't seen this until they were almost there proved to Ronon just how bad the scientist felt. When McKay finally did realize they were almost there Ronon could see the relief in his eyes.  
Yes, as soon as they were off of this mountain again he would make sure McKay ate a nice hot meal and got plenty of rest.

...

'_Finally', _Rodney thought when Ronon pulled him up onto the plateau. He sat there for a while, panting and wheezing, trying to catch his breath.  
He became aware of someone opening a large door behind him, and he struggled to get up. He took a good look at the structure. The building was well hidden in the mountain side. Only the front was visible. The young man that had guided them there walked through the door.  
"In here!" he yelled from inside the building.  
Rodney stumbled in behind him, the sudden wall of hot air surprising him. Ronon followed him, and kept him steady and upright.  
They continued down a dark hallway, and suddenly they walked into a large chamber, with a huge device in the middle of the room. Rodney immediately walked towards it, and circled around it, his eyes taking in every little wire and button, and his hands pressing and pulling on things. He gestured at Ronon, and the Satedan took the heavy backpack off and put it down next to the scientist.  
"What have you been using it for? The wires have completely burned out and these -" he held up some crystal parts "are recently broken. And what is this?" he said, pointing at some parts that looked very different from the original parts.  
"What happened here? What were you trying to do?" he asked the young man.  
The young man started twisting his hands nervously.  
"I... I don't..."  
"I'm waiting!" Rodney said bluntly.  
"I... there was... I... I was only...-"  
"Yes, go on"  
Ronon looked at the younger man. He was really nervous. Sweat glistened on his forehead and he looked like a trapped animal. Whatever he had done, it had to be something that was really dangerous, or forbidden. Why else would he get this nervous.  
"I was... I found a book, hidden in the device. It had all kinds of notes in it. I think it was from one of the students of the original builders. I think this can be used as some kind of weapon. We were always taught that this device is build inside the mountain for a reason. That this mountain has too much energy, and that this device releases the energy into space, before it can explode. I was trying to keep the energy from releasing, and store it into this device." he told them, pointing at the parts that looked different.  
"If I can find a way to store the energy, and release it when I need it to..."  
"Are you insane?" Rodney cut him off.  
"You have hardly mastered structural engineering, and now you're trying to toy around with stored energy? You know what can happen if it's not stored properly? If you store too much energy in it? If you're not able to release it in time? Are you really that stupid? You don't just start playing around with things like that -"  
"I only wanted to get something more out of my job"  
"You could have destroyed the whole planet, the whole solar system. Did you think of that? No of course not! You only wanted to have some cool new weapon and didn't think about the well being of anyone else. What if the energy you stored clashed with the energy shield you have around your home. What if it had taken down the shield? You would be giving the wraith a clear path to your people", Rodney spat out.  
The young man looked about ready to cry, choking back tears.  
"Enough McKay" Ronon mumbled.  
Rodney looked the man in the eyes once more, fire spitting from them. But then he sighed and started rummaging in his backpack, pulling equipment from it. He quickly got to work.

Ronon was always impressed by the way in which McKay was able to switch from a tired, dead on his feet man, to the scientist that kept on working day and night. He watched McKay work for a while, but soon started to feel bored. Normally they would be out in a jungle, and he could keep himself busy with scouting the area again and again, always ready for the attack. But here they were in a building, high up on a mountain. There was no jungle here. There was no perimeter to walk. He felt the restlessness in his legs, and knew his body would rather be running around somewhere. But he knew better. He wouldn't leave the scientist out of his sight. You never knew what could happen.  
Wraith, the Genii, people in general with bad intentions, natural disasters, animal attacks, accidents. There were so many things that could go wrong at any moment.  
He still remembered the cave in only a short while ago, when he was assigned to protection duty. McKay had been scouting out the ruins of an ancient lab, and Ronon, bored as he was, had stayed outside watching the area. He had suddenly felt a rumble in the ground, and at the same moment he saw the whole building where McKay had been in, collapse. They had worked with 2 teams a full 36 hours to get him out. By that time McKay had been more dead than alive. He had been cooped up in the infirmary for 4 weeks. He still felt guilty over that.  
Or the many times that villagers suddenly turned out to be traitors, working for the genii, or other people who could use McKay's knowledge. Or the ones that wanted to punish him for his attitude, or his work alongside Toth the wraith. More than once McKay had been the target, and he would do everything in his power to keep the scientist from getting hurt, even if he had to give up his own life to do it.  
He also remembered the general clumsiness of the man. The scientist seemed to attract trouble like a magnet. Wild animals always seemed to search him out. The attack of the wolf pack had earned them all some nice battle scars.  
No, he would stay here, and keep McKay company. This way he could keep an eye on the man's general well being as well and make sure he didn't overdue it.

"How could Eisen _not_ understand what this device does? Did he even look at it? The man is more stupid then I thought. Even Kavanough would be able to at least recognize the energy storage and energy output. I am going to have a word with him." Rodney grumbled to no one in particular.  
Ronon was so used to it by now, that he didn't get annoyed with the whining anymore. He even started to enjoy the rambling of the scientist. The trick was to not take it personal, and to not let it get to you. When he had finally figured that out, he was actually able to listen to the man's ridiculous behaviour without annoyance. He found it intriguing how someone so physically incapable of anything had the power to make grown men cry and wet their pants. Now he was able to read the man like an open book by measuring the offensiveness in his comments.

Ronon watched McKay work for a long time. It was already getting dark. McKay had taken half of the device apart and removed the newly added parts. He had then pinpointed the exact problems and rewired the device and installed the old and newly replaced parts back in. Ronon interrupted the scientist now and then and handed him an energy bar and a flask of water. Even though McKay would bark at him to leave him alone and let him work, he gratefully accepted the energy bars. Ronon knew the man always forgot the time when he dived into a new project. And he wasn't going to let the man slip off into a coma again, just because he forgot to eat.

...

Ronon jerked awake to the loud _clunk_ of a metal plate being pushed into place.  
Already crouching on his heels and hand tightly wrapped around his holster he looked around. Somehow he had fallen asleep sitting against the wall. He saw McKay pushing himself up from the device in the middle of the room and then looking at him.  
"Finally awake? I thought you were such an early riser?" McKay shot in his direction before nodding to the entrance of the room.  
"The sun has risen hours ago."  
Ronon frowned at that.  
'_Hours ago? Had he been asleep for that long?'.  
_Indeed the sunlight only lighted a small path from the entrance. It wasn't showing the long stretched out path made of sunlight that would have been there if the sun had only just been rising. He stood up quickly and bend his knees and shook his arms and legs awake. His stomach grumbled loudly.  
"I have put your breakfast over there" McKay said, pointing towards a corner.  
"It's not much, just bread and eggs, but it's better than nothing"  
Ronon nodded slightly and made his way towards the corner.  
"Neel brought it to us".  
"Neel?" Ronon asked with his mouth full. He had found the basket with food with the remains from last night's dinner, and had pulled out the largest bread and had started eating immediately.  
"Yeah, that's the name of that idiot that almost blew us all up".  
"Hmm" Ronon replied.  
"He's outside, somewhere" McKay gestured towards the entrance.  
"Said he had some things to take care of and that he would be back later."  
Ronon also looked at the entrance.  
"That was hours ago, when he had just delivered us the food. You'd think that he would want to stay close by, since it was his fault that we're here in the first place. You'd think that he would want to know what I'm doing to fix it. It's weird" McKay sounded genuinely puzzled.  
"How come it's weird?" Ronon mumbled around the bread in his mouth.  
McKay looked at him and sighed.  
"As a scientist and as a guardian of this place, he would need to know everything that goes on around here. Even though he was messing around with all this stuff, he would need to know the status of everything. Especially since his job is to keep the whole mountain from blowing up. It is a pretty important task. Strangers come in here to fix the mess he has made, and suddenly he disappears. Trusting, turning over his task, his sole job, to people he has only just met. It's not right. It's weird".  
"Maybe he was just ashamed", Ronon said, tearing off another piece of bread.  
"Even if he's ashamed, it shouldn't stop him from doing his job. I don't like it. Maybe he has other experiments running, and now that he knows how dangerous it could be, he is shutting it off."  
Ronon shrugged.  
"That's good".  
"Yeah, it is..." McKay replied, lost in thought.  
Suddenly a rumble shook the mountain and pulled McKay from his thoughts.  
"Yes yes" he mumbled to himself and his hands darted quickly over the panels, pushing all kinds of buttons.  
It never ceased to amaze Ronon how expertly the man could handle any device thrown at him. He watched in awe as numbers, diagrams and text fluttered across the screen. He felt another rumble shaking the mountain.  
"This should be it" he heard McKay say as he hit another button.  
He felt the tinge of electricity in the air as it made the hair on the back of his neck spike. He heard a distant whine of something charging, and suddenly a loud _Whoosh_ could be heard as the electricity was released.  
"It's not enough yet" McKay mumbled to himself and repeated the actions. After three more rounds of releasing the build-up energy, he was happy with the energy readings from the device.  
"Now, if Neel turns the device on in the morning again, and releases the energy once a day, there shouldn't be any lasting effect of the device being shut down for so long".  
Ronon simply grumbled something. He didn't care about such things.  
"So, you're finished?"

Rodney nodded. Oh, how ready he was to go home. He longed for warmth, coffee, a good meal, and a nice bed to sleep in. He longed to be back in Atlantis. He was tired. So tired. And now that he was finally finished he could feel the aching in his body. He was sure that if he wanted, he could sleep right here, right now.  
"Let me just pack up, then we can finally go back to Atlantis".

Ronon looked at McKay. Now that the man was finished with the repairs his whole body seemed to slump in on itself. He had dark circles under his eyes, clear evidence that he had worked all day and through the whole night, _again. _And god knows how long he had been up before that. He saw the man trembling, from the cold, lack of sleep, lack of energy, lack of food. He pulled out the last of his energy bars and handed it to McKay.  
McKay looked at him, dumbfounded.  
"Eat. You're gonna need the energy" Ronon replied gruffly.  
"Thanks" McKay said, surprise evident in his voice. He squinted his eyes and focused on the flavours. You could never be too careful. Apparently satisfied McKay pulled of the wrapper and started eating it.  
Ronon moved to McKay's backpack and slung it over his shoulder with a loud _clunk_. Ronon felt the equipment rattle and press into his back.  
McKay threw him an annoyed look. Ronon knew exactly why, but just arched his eyebrow, daring McKay to say something about it. McKay seemed to debate whether it was worth it or not, and in the end he just pressed his lips together and continued eating the energy bar.  
Ronon saw McKay trying to stifle a loud yawn.  
'_Yes, he would need all the energy he could get. Climbing a mountain with McKay on his best was a challenge. Climbing a mountain with McKay dead on his feet, falling over from sleep deprivation was a disaster waiting to happen. They were just gonna have to do this one step at a time', _Ronon thought.

...

Rodney sat against a large bolder, letting his head lean against it. He was exhausted. It had taken about two and a half hour to climb down again. After only ten minutes the cold had crept back into his bones and had made him shiver uncontrollably. His hands and feet had gone numb from the cold, and his skin had turned an angry red from the cutting wind. He already was tired as hell, and lack of sleep and coffee made it hard to focus. Ronon had taken precautions and tied the ending of a rope around McKay's waist and the other end around his waist. He let McKay walk up front and was walking just a step behind him, keeping his hand on McKay's shoulder to steer him in the right direction or keep him from moving all together. It worked quite well, but it took up a large amount of time and was taxing on the both of them. Now that they had finally reached the bottom, Ronon had steered McKay to the large bolder and propped him up against it. He had untied the rope connecting the two of them and was just putting it away when Neel climbed down from the mountain.  
"I went inside the chamber, but you had already left. Then I went to look outside and saw you climbing down. I gathered the remains of the food and followed you" he told them triumphantly.  
Ronon looked at him. Obviously the boy was rather quick in climbing the mountain. Why hadn't he let them know that he was close behind them? And more important, how come Ronon hadn't noticed him that close behind. Obviously this boy was a lot stealthier then he let on. Together with McKay's observation earlier about the boys behaviour made it so that Ronon couldn't find himself to trust the man. He would keep an eye on him.  
Neel slumped his shoulders, seemingly taking Ronon's absence of reply personal.  
"Is there some left?" Ronon grumbled.  
The boys face lit up.  
"Food you mean? Sure" and he pulled out another loaf of bread and 1 boiled egg from the basket.  
"Here" he said, handing it over to Ronon.  
Ronon walked back to where McKay sat against the bolder and found the man sound asleep, snoring slightly. A small smile tugged at the corner of Ronon's lips. They could stay here for a little while. He lowered himself on the floor and tried to find a comfortable position. He divided the bread in three pieces and held one out to Neel.  
"Are you going to stay here?" he asked, his gaze wondering from Ronon to McKay, ignoring the offered piece of bread.  
"Just for a while, so he can at least get some strength back", Ronon answered, gesturing towards the sleeping man, and putting the piece of bread next to the chunk reserved for McKay.  
"Do you know the way back by yourself?" Neel asked, looking down the path.  
"The path we took to get here wasn't difficult".  
"Then I should get going. Omac, our leader, was expecting you back yesterday. I'll inform him that you're on your way and that they can start the preparations for the feast again".  
Ronon looked him in the eyes again and nodded. What the boy was saying sounded off somehow. Why would this Omac be expecting them back yesterday. Neither he, nor the boy knew how much time it would take to fix the device. And even worse, the scientist that had already been here was unable to determine the problem. If anything, they should have been expecting McKay to take weeks for the repairs. The boy seemed deliberately evasive, secretive, nervous, but brave too... and smart. There was something _weird_ about him, as McKay had said it. Ronon couldn't quite put his finger on it. The earlier they were off this planet and back in Atlantis the better.  
"Oke. I'll be going then" the boy said with a wavering voice and turned around.  
Ronon grunted a reply and the boy took off.  
Ronon watched him go. Something about the boy kept bothering him. He didn't know what it was. He just hoped that whatever it was didn't turn out to be something bad. He would just have to keep an extra eye out when they were back in the village.  
But for now he would just rest. He munched on his piece of bread and let the sunlight warm his features as McKay's soft snores filled the air.

* * *

\To be continued


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Stargate Atlantis, set in season 3.**

**I do not own any of these characters.**

I am sorry if my English sucks.

I am not a doctor. So if any of the symptoms and/or treatments aren't correct, don't sue me :P

* * *

_Something was tapping his face. But what? _Rodney tried to open his eyes, but a groan escaped his mouth instead.  
"...up! McKay! Wa... up!... go!"  
Rodney listened to the words and tried to make sense of them. Now something shook his shoulders slightly and he felt the pounding in his head worsen. He let out another groan.  
"McKay! Wake up! It's time to go!"  
Rodney managed to open his eyes to slits. For a moment the bright light overwhelmed him, and he quickly closed them again, feeling the pounding in his head intensify.  
"McKay!", the voice said threateningly.  
"'m up..." Rodney mumbled, prying his eyes open again to small slits.  
Then suddenly the bright light disappeared and curious as to what had caused the bright light to disappear, he opened his eyes further and looked straight at Ronon's chest.  
"Better?", the tall man mumbled.  
Rodney started to nod, before groaning out loud as the pounding in his head intensified even more. He was vaguely aware of someone tugging on his tag vest, too immersed in the pain his head gave him.  
Someone put something in his hand and moved his hand up to his mouth.  
"Swallow them".  
It took him a while to figure out what the instructions meant and the voice grew impatient.  
"Just swallow the pills McKay", the voice said again.  
Rodney felt his hand being moved towards his mouth once again and he finally registered what was expected of him. He quickly tipped the pills into his mouth and swallowed them dry. He brought the canteen with water, that had mysteriously appeared in his hand, to his mouth and took a few sips.  
He let himself fall back against the large bolder he was leaning against and felt himself starting to drift off again.  
Someone was tapping his face again.  
"McKay, wake up! We've got to go".  
Rodney felt himself rouse again.  
"That's it! Come on!".  
Rodney opened his eyes again and took in the man in front of him.  
"Ronon?", he asked dumbfounded.  
_What was Ronon doing here? And where was here?. _Rodney had a hard time straightening things out.  
"What...?", Rodney trailed off, not knowing what he wanted to know exactly.  
"We were just heading back to the village. You fixed the device for Neel, remember?", Ronon explained.  
Suddenly it all came back to Rodney and he nodded.  
"How long before we reach the village? And where is Neel? There is something odd about him", he said, looking around for the boy.  
Ronon shrugged.  
"Said he'd go back to the village, to inform Omac of our delay".  
"Who is Omac?", Rodney asked.  
"Their leader. Here eat this", Ronon said as he pushed the piece of bread in McKay's hand.  
Rodney looked down at the bread. He only now realized that he was starving.  
"Thanks", he said, before wolfing down the bread quickly.  
The bread was dry and slightly old, but still it disappeared within minutes. Ronon handed him the canteen again and another piece of bread. Rodney took a few sips of water to moisten his mouth and wolfed down the second piece as well. He rinsed it away with water again and handed Ronon the canteen back.  
"Thanks", he mumbled and content for the moment he leaned back against the bolder again.  
The pounding in his head had dimmed slightly and he sighed a breath of relief.  
"We have to go if we want to reach the village before dark", Ronon said, looking at the scientist.  
Rodney sighed. Of course they would have to go. He just wanted to sit there and let himself drift off again, but he knew the chances of him getting to village unscratched were larger in broad daylight then during night time.  
He sighed again and moved to get up. Ronon caught his movement and quickly manoeuvred and pulled him on his feet. Rodney wobbled a bit, but then found his footing and thanked Ronon. He looked at the side and his gaze wondered to the top of the mountain. He shuddered at the memories of climbing that thing and quickly averted his gaze to the forest on their other side.  
He took a few steps towards it and then realized that Ronon hadn't followed.  
"Shall we go?", he asked, worry underneath his words.  
This seemed to snap Ronon out of his thoughts. He grumbled something indecipherable and quickly followed McKay.  
Rodney took this as a 'Yes' and fell in line next to Ronon.

...

The sun was setting when they finally arrived back in the village.  
"What do you think all that noise is?", Rodney asked, referring to the sound of loud chatter, music being played and singing.  
Ronon shrugged.  
"The feast?", he suggested.  
Rodney's face instantly changed.  
"You think?", he asked, excitement flashing across his features.  
"Then there will be food there! I am starving!", he said, instantly quickening his pace.  
Ronon looked at him.  
The scientist had eaten the last of the bread before they left and that had been several hours ago. McKay's face, white as a sheet and trembling all over, flashed through his mind. Yes. He would make sure McKay got a nice meal and then get plenty of rest.  
When they arrived at the cause of all the noise, the music suddenly stopped and everyone stopped to stare at them. The older man from before walked up to them.  
"There they are, our saviors from the city of the ancients. Neel has tolled me all about you. Come...", he motioned his hand towards the large tables that were set in a U-form.  
"You will sit at the high-table".  
Rodney looked at Ronon, a questioning look in his eyes. He was starving, and normally he would follow without a second thought. But with the mentioning of Neel's name, that suspicious, odd feeling came back again.  
Ronon just shrugged. He hadn't seen or felt anything suspicious, nor did he read any ill intentions in the man in front of them. He would keep an eye out, but for now getting McKay to eat and rest was more important.  
Rodney turned around again and followed the man. A young man suddenly appeared behind McKay and pushed him onto a couple of cushions to the left. Ronon followed him and took place on the one cushion to the right of McKay. Women with trays of food darted over and McKay sniffed it suspiciously before putting large chunks of meat and other dishes on his bread-plate. Ronon quickly piled his plate with meat and meat only.  
When the women darted back to tend to the others, Rodney and Ronon saw that the older man had taken place on the large, wooden throne and was staring at them expectantly.  
Rodney wondered what he was supposed to do, when Ronon elbowed him in the ribs.  
"Auw-", he exclaimed, rubbing his hand over his painful ribs.  
Ronon fixed him with a stern gaze.  
"What?!", Rodney demanded.  
"That hurt! I know you are all muscle and Mr tough guy, but that doesn't mean I don't feel anything. I bruise easily, you know and I am already sore from our climb-from-hell, so excuse me for-"

"McKay, he is waiting for us to eat", Ronon cut him off.  
Rodney looked at him dumbfounded for a moment, before catching on. He quickly looked at the older man and saw the expression of expectation and slight worry on the man's face.  
Then he quickly grabbed the knife laying next to his plate and stuck it in a chunk of meat. He brought it up to his mouth and took a bite. He didn't know what to expect, but surprisingly enough the flavor suited him. Just the right mix of herbs and the meat itself was tough but slightly sweet in flavor. He nodded at the older man.  
"It's good!", he said with his mouth still full of half chewed meat.  
The man looked over at Ronon and a smile appeared on his face when he saw that Ronon had already finished a quarter of his plate. The man gave a signal and the music started playing again. Soon the chatter of the people filled the evening sky again.

Rodney was just finishing his third plate when the young boy that saw them to their seats earlier, walked up to them. The boy carefully balanced a large carafe in his hands and held it out to them.  
"Would you like to try some of our _symboosh_? It's a special drink that we only drink on special occasions".  
"Moonshine?", Rodney asked.  
Ronon held up both of their glasses as the boy filled them to the brim with the honey colored liquid.  
"Just drink it, McKay!", Ronon answered gruffly, putting the glass down in front of McKay.  
Rodney threw Ronon a dirty glance.  
"I happen to be curious as to what to expect. You might have all these superpowers that you know what will happen next and what everything will taste like... but I don't! And I don't like surprises. I'd rather be prepared -"  
"You're whining!"  
"Whining?", Rodney asked, a flash of hurt crossing his face.  
"Yes, whining!", Ronon continued, not noticing the hurt in his companions eyes.  
"So just shut up already. Stop making a problem out of everything and just drink it!"  
"I am not making a problem out of everything. They asked me to fix the device, I did! They wanted to waste my time and celebrating everything before I had even done my job, not me! I went and did what I came here for. Exactly what is it that I am creating a problem out of?", Rodney said, his voice rising.  
"This... everything"  
"I haven't said a word about the food. I actually liked it! Did you not see me finish 3 plates?", Rodney said in a loud voice, irritation evident in his voice.  
Ronon sighed heavily. He was tired from the days events, even though he had slept a good couple of hours. He suspected McKay wasn't feeling much better, the only hours of sleep he had caught being the ones after they had climbed down from the mountain. The scientist had worked all through the night, again, not to mention the time he had been up before that. He was always amazed how McKay was able to fix any science problem being thrown his way, no matter how much he deprived his body of sleep. No matter if he was dead on his feet, not being able to keep his eyes open. When a problem occurred he always found the energy to fight through.  
He picked up the glass and pressed it in McKay's hands.  
"Just... drink it. I wanna get out of here".  
Rodney looked at the man and he could see the tired lines in the man's face. They were both tired and felt their muscles ache. Yes, they were both in need of a good nights sleep.  
Rodney sighed deeply, put the glass to his lips and took a few sips.  
Rodney felt the liquid slide down his throat and savored it's taste. Then suddenly he felt his tongue and face starting to tingle and he felt his throat closing up. He let out a startled breath and pushed himself away from the table, fear enveloping him. He struggled to stand up, but his body was growing weak and he fell back against the wall, heavily. His vision was starting to blur and Rodney was starting to panic. It became harder and harder to breathe. He fought to get enough air into his lungs as his airway was starting to close up. Energy drained from his body and his legs started to shake.  
'Not good! Not good! Not good!'.  
Rodney made a feeble attempt to locate the epi-pens he always carried with him, but his body, deprived of oxygen, grew weaker and weaker and his legs refused to carry him any longer. His knees buckled and he fell to the ground heavily. To weak to do much more, Rodney turned his face sideways, bracing himself for the impact with ground. Suddenly his descend towards the floor stopped, as strong arms wrapped themselves around him and kept him from falling face down on the dirt floor.  
His mind seemed to come to a stand still and struggled to process the events. Rodney felt himself being turned around, as he struggled in another breath. With his wavering energy he forced himself to open his eyes. Rodney looked at the man holding him, concern evident on his face.  
Suddenly he recognized the man. It was Ronon. Rodney opened his mouth slightly to say something, but only a choked sound came out. He focused the last of his energy and made a feeble attempt to open up his vest pocket. The concerned eyes followed his movement and seemed to understand what he wanted.  
Rodney felt the arms holding him adjusting their hold and one of the arms quickly moved down to his vest pocket and pulled out an epi-pen. The hand quickly popper off the cap and stabbed the needle into Rodney's leg and injected the substance.  
Rodney felt the stinging pain and immediately felt the adrenaline rush through his system. His airway opened up a bit more and he hastily gulped in the much needed oxygen. The sudden flow of air tickled his throat, and he started to cough. A tear ran down his cheek from the effort it took to take a choked breath through the harsh coughs. Slowly, he felt the fog in his mind lessen and the warmth returned to his body once more. His body started to tingle and twitch, and he felt restless. His skin began to crawl and he opened his eyes again with a snap.

Ronon looked down at the scientist, anxiously waiting for the medicine to kick in. He had seen McKay drink some of the _symboosh_ from the corner of his eyes and had downed his own glass at once. When he suddenly heard a gasp from the man next to him, he quickly looked around, his weapon drawn. He fully expected weapons to be turned on them, or the Gennii or the wraith standing there. He scanned the city square but couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. He turned around to look at his companion and realized he was no longer at his spot on the cushions. The scientist was leaning heavily against the wall behind them, his legs shaking from the effort. He had his eyes closed tightly. His face was red and his lips seemed swollen. But the worst was that Ronon could hear the scientist struggling to breathe. Ronon was on his feet in a second and rushed towards the scientists side. He jumped forward and caught McKay as the man's knees gave out and McKay tumbled towards the floor.  
He hastily turned McKay around and looked at the man in his arms. He had no idea what was going on, or what he was supposed to do. McKay opened his eyes slightly and met his gaze. Then McKay's hand moved towards his vest pocket and weakly tried to open it. Then it finally hit Ronon. An allergic reaction... of course. He had heard McKay mention it thousands of times. He had witnessed it a couple of times. How could he not recognize what was going on. He quickly adjusted his hold on McKay and pulled out one of the epi-pens. As quickly as he could he pulled off the cap and injected the medicine into McKay's leg and anxiously waited for it to take effect, praying that he wasn't too late.  
He could feel McKay's body starting to tremble and the breaths coming easier. Ronon let out a breath he had been holding. He hadn't been too late. He heard McKay gulp in as much air as he could, his body cramping up from the coughing it brought on. A tear ran down the man's cheek.  
Then suddenly the man opened his eyes wide and tried to pull away from him. Ronon quickly reacted and supported the man as he started to heave. After it seemed McKay had lost all of the contents of his stomach, Ronon helped him move away from the mess and propped him up against the wall.  
"How are you feeling?", he asked anxiously.  
"I... really... hate... this stuff", the scientist answered, his head resting against the wall.  
"It always feels like I'm gonna crawl... right out of my skin", he said in a weak voice.  
Ronon looked at McKay. The breathing certainly came easier now and the swelling of his lips started to come down as well.  
"Thank you", McKay said honestly, looking at Ronon.  
"If you hadn't been here... I don't know-"  
"If I hadn't been here, you would never have drank that stuff without checking it. It's my fault this happened."  
Rodney looked at the man and could see the guilt shining in his eyes. On any other day he probably would have torn Ronon apart, but he couldn't do it... not today. He was exhausted, even though the adrenaline kept him wide awake at the moment. The days events had gotten to him and Ronon had helped him through this whole, miserable mission. He had helped him climb the mountain, had cared for him when he went into hypoglycaemic shock. He had helped him down again and just now, he had saved his life. Yes, maybe he wouldn't have drank the stuff as quickly as he had done now, but he had sniffed the drink and he hadn't smelled any citrus what so ever. This was bound to happen sooner or later.  
"No, it's not. Of course I checked the drink. No matter how much anyone provokes me, I am not so stupid to just drink or eat anything that someone puts in front of me. I have a great sense of self-preservation you know", Rodney wheezed.  
Rodney looked at the man sitting next to him. He looked absolutely miserable.  
"This was not your fault. I checked the drink, but couldn't smell anything off. It was just bad luck that this drink happened to be something I am allergic for."  
Ronon shook his head.  
"I shouldn't have pressed you on it"  
"Well, no... you shouldn't have. But if you hadn't acted as quickly as you did, otherwise I'd have ended up a whole lot worse.", Rodney said as he started to yawn.  
His eyes started to close and his head fell back against the wall heavily.  
"I always hate this stuff", McKay mumbled.

Ronon felt guilty. He knew he checked the food and the drinks for a reason. He knew that, yet tonight it just irritated him more than normal. He was tired and didn't want to listen to another long discussion of what the product was made of and why he could or couldn't drink it. Yet now, he couldn't help but wish he had had that discussion.  
He looked at the man. McKay's face was now white as a sheet, and his body seemed drained of all energy. He looked up and saw the boy from before standing close by, looking at them. He motioned for him to get closer.  
"Do you have some place for him to rest?"  
"We've got a room all settled for you. I can take you there."  
Ronon nodded. He climbed back on his feet and pulled McKay up. The scientist let out a low moan.  
"w're... going?" McKay slurred.  
"To get you settled.", Ronon grumbled back and with that he pulled McKay's arm over his shoulders and dragged him with him, following the boy out of the crowd into a back alley.  
The boy led them to a small house and opened the door. In the room was a large bed, a fireplace with cushions around it and a small table with chairs next to the window. Ronon gently lowered McKay down on the bed and took of his vest and shoes. When he had him settled in he pulled the chair close to the bed and sat down, watching the scientist. He made sure that the allergic reaction didn't come back for a second round, before letting himself drift off as well.

* * *

\To be continued


End file.
